A few lawmakers are a bit confused about the Constitution. For example, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky tweeted this:
I responded:
Then my Twitter followers jumped into the act. This is from Ryan @boise3981:
For those who read the “general welfare clause” in a restricted manner, the Tenth Amendment relegates to the states any powers not specifically given Congress:
In case there was any doubt that states have the power to issue such regulations, here’s an example:
If you need Supreme Court to back up the common-sense notion that the government can regulate such matters, particularly in a health emergency, here you go:
The issue in Jacobson v. Massachusetts was whether a mandatory vaccination violated the 14th Amendment right to liberty. Nope.
Mary Lapis @GreenerSkiing asked:
Yes. Sigh. Laws and regulations do occasionally infringe on our personal liberty.
And sometimes governments issue regulations that force us to do things we don’t want to do for our own personal safety and the safety of others.
And in case you didn’t know:
So next time you meet someone like Rep. Massie, or the woman in this picture, who doesn’t think the government has the power to force people to wear masks, you can tell him or her about the “general welfare” clause of the Constitution.
Class dismissed.